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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

WILLIAM G. FITCH, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

NEWSPAPER-FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,036, dated June 22, 1880.

Application filed November 18, 1879.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM (J. FITCH, of the city of Sacramento, State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Newspaper-Files, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of newspaper-tiles formed by parallel sticks that are clamped together and hold the files of newspapers which are inserted between the sticks, the objection to this form of newspaper-files being that, owing to the length of the sticks, which have to be made longer than the width of the paper, they are extremely awkward for holding. Owing to their length and the fact that the papers tiled in them cannot be folded, it is necessary to hold them at arms length or lay them on the table in order to read them.

The object of my invention is to overcome this objection by constructing a newspaperfile so that the papers filed in it can be folded to a form that will make them convenient to handle.

The invention consists in forming a newspaper-file in two parts, to be connected together by flexible material, so that the holder can be doubled up or bent in the middle and allow the papers filed in the holder to be folded up.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a newspapcrfile embodying my invention, in which the papers inserted are shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a view of the newspaper-file doubled up. Fig. 3 shows a detail.

Fig.1 shows the newspaper-file, composed of parallel strips b b b b and flexible connections c 6. These connections may be made of leather or any flexible material that will allow the holder to bend, as shown in Fig. 2.

The upper strip is composed of the sticks or rods 1) b and the flexible connections a. The under part is composed of the sticks b b and their flexible connection 6. These two parts are connected together by the thumb-screws s s, or any equivalent devices, such as elastic bands, and the paper to be held or filed is placed between the two parts, as shown in dotted lines, and the two parts clamped tightly together with the papers between them, and

secured by the screws 8 s. The lower part, at a position between the screws 8 and connection 6, is provided with cutters c c, as shown at the part cut away on the left of Fig. 1. These cutters are rigidly connected to the lower sticks, b b, and are made knife-like, with blades extending toward the ends of the holder, so that when the papers are inserted between the sticks b b the cutters 0 pass through the papers and extend up into the upper sticks, b b, in recesses or slots made to receive them, as shown in Fig. 1 and detail Fig. 3, so that when the papers are clamped between the sticks b the cutters chave passed through them, and the shank parts of the cutters 0 act as pins and keep the papers in position, the object of having the cutters made with blades extending outward, as shown, being to cut a long slot in the paper, so that as the holder is bent, as shown in Fig. 2, the paper, in bending around with the holder, will be drawn endwise on the shanks of the cutters 0, and the long slots that the blades have made will allow sufficient play for the shanks of c c to slide through.

The flexible joints 0 e are to be composed of such material as will bend in a gradual curve and not allow the newspapers to be bent short around in a way that would tear them open at the bend; hence a hinge or sharp joint would not answer the purpose.

What I claim as my invention is- The improved folding newspaper-file comof the cutters c 0 when the file is folded, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. WILLIAM C. FITCH. Withesses:

DAVID WHITE, S. R. Bron. 

